Show your students the reason for solving the problems given and how the concepts relate to real world problems, at least at the elementary level. Make your presentation as visual as possible, most people respond well to pictures of what is involved.

My physics professor always gave the original historical motivation behind solving the problems we were working on, and that made it come alive for me.

Many math teachers turn their students off by simply stating this is how you do it, so do it. If a student understands the reasoning, they are much more likely to grasp the concept.